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Cover Story
UPI TURNS 10
What makes UPI unique…
n Instant money transfer Global Acceptance of Indian Innovation
via mobile phones, 24x7, n In June 2025, the IMF published a fintech note on the role
365 days a year. of interoperability in the growth of retail digital payments.
n Access to multiple bank It stated that India’s instant payment system, launched in
accounts through a single 2016, has set a precedent for the entire digital payment
application. landscape. A few months later, in September 2025, the
n Two-factor IMF’s own magazine, Finance & Development, published a
authentication—ensuring detailed article on India’s seamless payment mechanism. It
both security and highlighted that UPI had become the world’s largest instant
convenience. payment system, facilitating an average of over 19 billion
n Virtual address facility— transactions per month.
no need to share account n This acclaim is no coincidence. For decades, Western
numbers or card details. institutions and card networks dominated the global
n Support for QR financial infrastructure. For the first time, a public digital
code and intent-based platform from a developing nation has emerged as an
payments. exportable model for
n Freedom from the the world. While this
hassles of 'Cash on shift may not have
Delivery' and the need occurred amidst great
for exact change. fanfare, its impact is
n Both Person-to-Person profound. It is a story
(P2P) and Person- not merely of the
to-Merchant (P2M) movement of money,
payments on a single but of India’s growing
platform. stature in innovation,
n Facility to lodge and inclusion, and trust.
resolve complaints
directly via the mobile
app.
Launched a decade ago, UPI has trust of millions of Indians – all embodied in the
revolutionised payment methods Unified Payments Interface, or UPI. It is this trust
that drives not only 10 million UPI payments every
in the country, making digital second in India but also accounts for one out of
transactions simple, fast, secure, every two global UPI payments taking place within
and convenient. the country. To facilitate this growth, over 810
million UPI payment points are currently in use
Narendra Modi, Prime Minister across India. This is precisely why economists from
14 NEW INDIA SAMACHAR || Sep 16-30, 2026
